1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle trim assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to trim assembly with a pull cup that includes a break-away portion that causes a main body of the pull cup to separate from a corresponding attachment portion in response to a prescribed level of force being applied to the trim assembly.
2. Background Information
Vehicle passenger compartments typically have a plurality of doors, with at least some of the doors including a trim assembly with trim panel, an armrest and a pull cup attached to the arm rest. The pull cup can further fixedly attached to internal structural elements of the door. The pull cup is shaped and dimensioned such that a passenger can grasp the armrest and/or pull cup, with fingers extending into the pull cup. The pull cup is typically made of a material with sufficient rigidity and strength such that the passenger can reliably apply force to the pull cup to close the door.
During a side impact event, where there is sufficient force to deform exterior panels of the door, the trim panel of the trim assembly within the vehicle may also deform thereby absorbing some impact energy. Since the pull cup must have sufficient rigidity to transmit pulling force to the door in order to close the door, the pull cup typically cannot deform to the extent that the trim panel might deform.